Author Archives: Olivia

THE KILLS-Ash & Ice.

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“We were dancing to a beat of our own, flying with our speakers blown.”

 

For the past week I’ve been constantly listening to Ash & Ice by The Kills. Today I can finally listen to it properly on my record player which I carried up a hill to get home in this ridiculous heat. I wouldn’t mind, but having a knackered disk in my back isn’t too much fun. It’s alright, now I’m seated and playing it as loud as I can. I can associate every record by The Kills with certain points in my life, and since Blood Pressures came out until last Friday it defined certain moments, feelings and people. I fell so heavily in love with that record and to take myself away from it so I could give in to Ash & Ice I thought, would be really hard. I was wrong. Ash & Ice is now defining whatever is going on now- good, bad, average and brilliant. It’s a chaotic safety net.

As I helplessly love this record so, I’ll go through each song. It might be safer for you to just go buy the record and listen to it rather than subject yourself to my ramblings about it.

Doing It To Death: I remember hearing this a couple months ago now, and just playing it over and over again. Something about it just made me realise yet again, why I adore this band. Why they are easily one of the most important bands in my life. There’s something about Jamie and Alison that leaves constantly wanting more and more. I love the line, “Baby lately, the plans we’re making are the shape of things that never come.” It’s a gut feeling that I reckon most feel, but not many want to actually face it. Fuck it. Face it, and carry on.

Heart Of A Dog: Like the above, this ended up being on repeat constantly when I heard it. Every line in this song is apt and if I could every word to this tattooed on my body- I probably would. “It’s life or death why I chew through the chain” is a line that’s just so raw and brutal. I know what it’s like to have parts wander off but for the heart always be loyal. You go back to what you needed in time. It takes time, but you get there. You just need to let it out sometimes, I guess.

Hard Habit To Break: I LOVE the intro to this so much. I think it’s most definitely one of my favourites off the record. Sometimes you’re the bad that someone else wants or needs, and they can take that bad and make it good. In time. I’m pretty sure that this will be amazing to see live, and I’ve seen clips of this where Alison just lets rip and flails her body in ways that if you or I tried to do- we’d end up in hospital. Worth the attempt, right? Pretty cool way to end up in A&E. I love the line “Maybe when the lights fade, maybe it’s my (your/our) mistake.” There’s only so much blame a person can carry before they realise others have played their part too.

Bitter Fruit: At first I just really loved the song. Then I paid close attention to the lyrics and some weird revelation hit me. I can’t decide which lyrics I love the most. It’s between “I gotta save my soul from the bad in you” and “I could pray, but can’t you see the kind of things I pray for are cursing me.” Both are pretty tough lyrics, and easy to identify with. That’s what I love about their songs, they just paint emotions in a way that I never ever could. They take every feeling imaginable and make it something to be proud of- even if it is a truly ugly feeling.

Days Of Why And How: In some ways this reminds me of Rodeo Town, Wait and Baby Says. It’s got that soothing feel to it. I think it has some of the best lyrics on the record: “When I hear your name, it’s a like a freight train. Shake shake shake shake shaking me, off my tracks.” I don’t know if that lyric is for good or bad, but it’s so gorgeous and powerful. I could listen to it forever and not get tired. An impending fear mixed with devotion. That’s just how it goes sometimes.

Let It Drop: I don’t really have much of an opinion on this one, and I think it’s because it’s the one I’ve not really listened to that much. Jamie and Alison have this sound that makes them stand out from everyone else, and I think Let It Drops experiments with this in a really great way. It sounds like they’ve massively pushed themselves with this song, and I think it’ll be one that I end up loving as much as the rest- I just need to stop being attached to other songs on the record to let this one in. However, the line “You’re giving me reasons to turn my teardrops into death threats” is just a gorgeous piece of poetry.

Now, if you have the vinyl copy this is where we take it over to side B.

Hum For Your Buzz: This has that brutal but Blues feel that caused me to first fall heart first in love with them 13 years ago. 13 years ago I heard The Kills and it changed everything for me. Every single time they bring out something new, I just fall more in love with them and I remember exactly what it was that drew me in the first place. Hum For Your Buzz has a beautiful feel of vulnerability surrounding it, and their fearless approach to writing lyrics will always be something I admire and love. “I am a vision you looked for so long at your door sweetheart.” That’s my solid favourite from the song. Subject to change, as ever.

Siberian Nights: The only way to listen to this song is to have to obnoxiously loud. Everything about this just makes you feel like you can overpower any feeling of love or lust a person may have towards you. It’s bold but endearing in its own way. I love the lyric, “I can make you come in threes, I’m halfway to my knees. Am I too close for comfort?” It’s the right kind of filth. The whole song is full of lines that make you feel a bit braver than you are. I guess with lines like “For the tyrants in a rut, I got a love” makes it for us underdogs. I couldn’t imagine getting tired of listening to this song. You pick up different things to love with each listen, and I love their vocals together on this. Check the guitar Jamie uses on this also.

That Love: The Last Goodbye from Blood Pressures probably broke your heart, right? Well, you’re not getting off lightly this time. I read the lyrics to this before I heard it. I’m not sure which is more heartbreaking. However, it’s a song I needed. It’s a song I probably won’t go back and listen to on repeat. It’s a heavy song, emotionally and I think it’ll be a mountain of strength for those who need some form of courage. We all need to be brave at times, there’s no right or wrong time for you to be brave. You just have to do it. I’m not going to pick a line from this, it’s too difficult. Maybe it’s obvious which ones will mean the most. You can’t feel bad for the rest of time.

Impossible Tracks: I adore how menacing this one sounds. It’s got that thumping sound of Future Starts Slow on it, and again, it’s one you need to play insanely loud. “Oh you get what you give, I don’t regret what I did. Well if a real live liar can set you on fire, then don’t you settle for it?” It’s real mean this song, and it makes you feel so tough when you listen to it. I also love the line, “And we hold our smiles inside like we’re holding back the tide.” If I could write something as rebellious as that, I’d be pretty happy. I think this is definitely one of my favourites off the record.

Black Tar: The line, “London’s bloodthirsty” is enough for me to know that I am mad about this song. The imagery in the words is just nothing short of stunning, and it’s just a realisation of why I bloody love The Kills! I’ve never ever doubt my love for them, and I never could. There are just consistently mind-blowing and their lyrics have always been such a huge part of who I am- whoever that may be. Some things you don’t figure out, even when you’re 29. This song makes you want to get in a car, and drive off into the night without looking back.

Echo Home: This has the gentle tones of Baby Says but there is so much sadness in this song. It’s pretty tough to listen to. I’d rather have That Love on repeat than this one because there’s so much overwhelming sadness in it. Every word in this song is just truly gorgeous, and for me this is the one that holds the most weight. It’s the one you play when you miss something/someone that’s been gone for some time. Have hope, because sometimes if the universe doesn’t totally hate you- it all comes back to you again. For me, it’s the line: “And if I take a turn for the worst and I call you on the phone, will you echo home when I call? Won’t you echo back and make it alright.” I know I’m too sensitive for my own good at times, but this line has this wealth of honesty and fragility to it that just breaks your heart. I just adore every single word on this song, and the way Jamie and Alison’s voices fit so perfectly on this song so so much.

Whirling Eye: And now we reach the end of the record with one of the most rowdy songs on the record. I think they’ve saved this one until last so the listener realises they’ve not had enough, and goes back to the start again. The whole song feels like a whirlwind. It sends you into some immense spin that no one can pull you out of. It’s so hypnotic. Alison’s voice on Whirling Eye has this insane urgency to it that makes you feel like you’ve probably joined a cult. If those two are the leaders, sign me up now. It’s definitely a song to make you feel like a total rebel to and it’ll make you want to ditch everyday life and hit the dusty road as fast as you can. Who cares where you go, just get there.

I could have easily summed this all up with saying this is the best record I’ve heard all year or just condensed my love for it. But the thing is, The Kills pull something out of me that nothing else ever has. They hit you with this urgency and this need to get whatever it is inside you all the way out. They have no filter when it comes to doing so, so why should you or I?

 

I will always have a soft spot for Keep On Your Mean Side, No Wow, Midnight Boom and Blood Pressures but with Ash & Ice, I feel like something completely different. I don’t know what it is. Maybe it’s that feeling of an old friend coming back home, it had been a few years since Blood Pressures and to finally have something new is just a truly great feeling. They could create their own version of the phonebook and I would still be madly in love with it. Sure there are many bands that I feel a connection with, but with The Kills it is this secret connection in my brain bound by their songs that creates this. This doesn’t always happen, and when you feel it, you cling onto it. It’s your own way of getting through the day and slowly, but surely, finding some self-acceptance. Ash & Ice means a lot for a lot of reasons- none of which will be mentioned but all I know is that it is bloody great to have them back.

KATE JACKSON AND THE WRONG MOVES: UK TOUR JUNE 2016.

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“4:34 I’m a new romantic soul.”

 

When I was at university I managed to pass off going to gigs all the time and skipping lectures as part of my degree. Sure having a degree in Music Journalism & Broadcasting can give you a passion for words and music, but it gives you a great free pass to not getting up for a 9am lecture when you’ve been to a gig the night before. Whilst at university, I struggled a fair bit with homesickness. I didn’t understand because I really hated where I lived. There was nothing for me on the Isle of Man, so I left for 3 years to do a course that would in some way, help me do something with my life. I found a few bands to cling on from 2006 to 2009 whilst there. One band in particular that got me through bouts of homesickness and general “I can’t cope” feelings were The Long Blondes. Someone To Drive You Home became a soundtrack to every single day. Certain songs on certain days were played more often than others. I never saw them live, but I did meet all of them bar Kate at a signing at Virgin Megastore in Manchester. I sat behind Screech on the train down, and he recognised me when he signed my CD. Never once did I think the band would split, and I stand by them splitting up to hurt more than a break-up. I have my reasons for this way of thinking, but music is my everything. Fast forward a few years, and I finally get to see Kate play her debut record, British Road Movies.

Out of the 3 dates they played last week, I made two of them. If I had the funds I would have gone to all 3. You don’t grow out of wanting to see bands/singers you really love at any given opportunity. If you’ve heard British Road Movies you’ll be aware of the love of motorways and service stations that Kate has in the songs. For me, that was a huge part of my love for The Long Blondes. I grew up where there were no motorways or service stations-then all of a sudden, I was surrounded by them. I’m that sad I actually do have a Top 3 service stations list. I’m always open to visiting more.

Both shows showed that not only does Kate have the most incredible voice, but her band are nothing short of amazing. Her guitarist, Reuben, plays with this insane fury that reminds me exactly of Bernard Butler mixed with Johnny Thunders. In short, he basically leaves you wishing you could play guitar like him. He thrashes it about in such a gorgeous fashion. Her drummer, Shannon,  thumps the hell out of the intro to Metropolis (second song in the set) right after the quiet tones of set opener, Velvet Sofa From Number 26. The set starts quietly, and this dramatic and intense pause occurs. This is greeted with the most rowdy drum intro I’ve heard in a long, long time. You can’t help but stand to attention but yell along “This city pulls me to pieces.”

On a personal level, Stranded and 16 Years are the songs that really do it for me. When I saw her show on Friday, I’ll admit that me and my best pal did have our share of a few drinks and enabled me to sing a long thus ruining my voice even more so (I’ve been poorly, but I’m getting better now) but her show on Sunday, I stood at the front and took it all in. I was really lucky because I went to both shows with two people I absolutely adore, and sometimes you just need someone with you who “gets” it. I can’t really explain what it is about Stranded and 16 Years that mean a lot. I guess it is certain lines in the songs that mean a lot. From Stranded I’d take “In another dimension, you’re here with me” and from 16 Year I’d probably take either “You were my release” or perhaps “I could have helped if you asked me to.” Her lyrics are gentle, thoughtful and so easy to connect with. I think this is why I’ve always held her as highly as Morrissey in my mind. I’m massively into lyrics, and people like Kate justify this love of words.

Aside from songs off British Road Movies, the band play 2 new songs- The Westerlies and Future City. Both are exceptional, and real stand out moments in the set. I’m pretty sure the recorded versions of these will be brilliant.

Kate has this wonderful presence about her stage, and I was fully expecting to witness a difference between London and Sheffield crowds- there truly wasn’t. She doesn’t draw in crowds of obnoxiously drunk louts who yell obscenities at the end of every song or during any silent moments. Both crowds were there because quite simply, we just bloody well love her. I always think live shows should take you some place else compared to where the actual record takes you. I think it’s because you can actually see the songs coming alive in front of you, and certain parts of songs become more clearer and you just go off some place else. It’s a sacred feeling, and one that was very much alive at her London and Sheffield shows.

And you know, they do say to never meet your heroes but after her show in London my friend pretty much dragged me/shoved me in the direction of Kate. And with a hug, I managed to blurt out what I wanted to say to her. Words get you through and the songs become, and save your life.

LOS VVS

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I’m attempting to write this at a “normal” hour because I’ll never sleep. 4 hours a day- no problem. Just don’t expect a functioning person in your presence. But that could be regardless of how long I have, or haven’t slept. Old routines never go, so to kill time I’ve found a band to write about.

Los VVs are an EXCELLENT Punk/Garage band from Paris. They’ve got a raw basement band sound going on, and it’s that kind of sound that brings out the frustrated drummer in me. As I listen to them, I’m using my desk as a drum kit. It’s usually a storage space for all of my books and notebooks, but right now it’s moonlighting as a drum kit. I doubt my neighbours give a shit.

Their first demo came out last year, which you can stream and purchase here: http://losvvs.bandcamp.com/releases It’s a great collection of rowdy and mischievous  tracks that encourage the listener to have the best time possible whilst blasting out these sounds as loud as possible. They’re a band to go on a road trip to, or maybe to just waste the day in your room to. They’ve got an accessible sound which could make a typical misfit kid in the middle of nowhere go start a band. If I heard them whilst in school, I probably would have started a one-person noise thing in my room. For no one to hear. Ever. Because I have a tendency to be painfully shy at times. 29 years old and I still haven’t got a grip on it.

Los VVs have got an infectious gritty sound. It feels filthy and you’ll want a shower afterwards. It’s the kind of music to throw your body about to. Highly recommended you do it in a basement bar, whilst doused in your sweat and drinks that don’t belong to you. If you leave a gig and you feel clean and pure, then you’ve done it wrong. Allow yourself to feel something a little sordid. Treat yourself to the darker, finer things in life. Their songs are like a sweet, sweet battering to the face. To the soul. All of the punches to the gut. Take the blows and devour them as they leave their marks on your delicate skin.

I’m all for bands that sound like this. It’s the kind of music that I take aim for- like a bull in a china shop. This is what makes my little heart beat faster. This is why I have this urgency to write about everything that makes its way into my ears. No time for slow, romantic love songs about the sun setting in a lovers eyes. No thanks. Give me something loud, slightly aggressive and bold. This is it for me.

The songs hit just under 3 minutes, and sometimes you need that fast and strung-out Garage sound. You need something quick and to the point. The fury in the songs and the general feel throughout just makes you want to do something like this. Go get yourself a music soulmate, and make some damn noise. Flail around on stage, bleed as your fingers hit the guitar strings, lose your voice the morning after, break some sticks as you smash out your rage on the drums. I don’t care- just let it out.

All I know about Los VVs is that I love them and they’re based in Paris

You can find out for yourself why I love them right here: http://losvvs.bandcamp.com/releases Buy the tape, it’s not that expensive.

TALL JUAN-Taller Than Ever.

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In a few weeks, one of the best guys I’ve met will be back in London. Tall Juan’s European tour is about to start, and prior to the tour of the Summer, a new EP has been released. On tape.

My love for Tall Juan is huge. I love the way he’s totally nailed that Punk sound I absolutely adore. I love how he makes you want to start your own band. I love how he makes you want to dance, develop an horrific crush on someone to the point it ruins you. I love how he just makes music that makes you insanely happy. He’s a cross between Joey Ramone and Ritchie Valens. It’s like La Bamba meets Beat On The Brat.

The songs on the tour EP consist of 2 covers and 2 of Juan’s songs. He’s got /the brilliant ability to take you back in time and holds you there for a little while. You can imagine him writing these songs on his porch at his home in Far Rockaway. You can imagine him gazing out into the unknown, and letting these songs fall out of him.

Tall Juan is one of those singers that you HAVE to see live. He’s got this insane energy that is projected at best on stage. On record you do get a sense of the hyperactivity in his songs, but when you see it all live and right in front you, it does something to you. You take the songs in a different way, in some respects. You get that strong urgency coming through. I adore I Wish I Knew as it sounds just like Joey Ramone crooning. It’s such a gorgeous song, and I love the way in which Juan evidently loves the Ramones, and carefully weaves their influence in his music. He uses his voice in the same way Joey did- you can’t help but stop what you’re doing and give it all of your attention.

Not Enough is a brilliant ode to a failing or failed love. The way in Juan speaks about it just shows how we all deal with heartache in a different way, and there comes a time where we just need more. We shouldn’t be afraid to want more than what we have, and it’s songs like this that drag it out of us.

Break It All (Los Shakers) cover is one I’ve really enjoyed during his live shows, and it’s the one where he urges the crowd to step forward and dance. You can’t help but dance to his music (covers or not.) He can sing about the saddest of subjects but he brings this cheerfulness to it that stops you from being hurt in any way, or any more than you already are. The other cover on the tape is  I Like To Stay Home by R.Stevie Moore which is a solid favourite amongst Juan’s fans, and is yet again, a brilliant cover. If you’re going to take on a song by someone else, it’s always important to make it your own in any way possible. Juan’s one of the few who do that. His cover of I Wanna Be Your Dog is a solid example of that.

You can get all the information you need about his European tour right here: https://www.facebook.com/events/500988976752247/

After you’ve picked a show to go to, get yourself a pizza and listen to the EP (and buy it!) here: https://talljuan.bandcamp.com/album/tall-juan-taller-than-ever-tour-cassette

EP is out via Gone With The Weed.

THE COLD BONES.

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A couple of weeks ago, myself and a good friend had our night at Aces & Eights. This is about one of the bands I asked to play after hearing a clip on their soundcloud page. A live recording that was enough for me to know I had to ask them before someone else got in there first and took them from my reach. Obviously, they could have said no after I asked but fortunately they didn’t. One song was all it took for me to know they’d fast become my favourite new band, and I hoped anyone who came to our night knew that they had witnessed a band that are most definitely going to do special things. Let’s not class the singer chipping her tooth on the mic at our night, mind!

The Cold Bones are everything my mind, body and soul looks for in music. It’s always a sold that I love listening to music that’s a bit dark and close to the knife edge of emotion. I need something that’s unapologetically brutal, loud and raw. Something that does something to the heart which makes the mind cloud its judgment. I got all this from one song, and now we have a couple more to go on. You see, it really does take a lot of me to truly love a piece of music or a band. I need to find something. This “something” leaves me stumped, and I can’t think of the words yet I still know I have to write about them. This is what The Cold Bones have done.

You can currently listen to (and buy) two new tracks on their bandcamp page here: http://thecoldbones.bandcamp.com/releases

Their songs make you feel as if you’re walking through a misty street, you can’t see anything around you and the sheer romanticism of this is elevated in these songs. Their sound is truly unlike anything I’ve heard in a long, long time. For a band to have this grip on what they’re about with just a handful of songs for us to listen to is nothing short of commendable. I remember them playing How You Spend Your Time at our night, and I was transfixed. I couldn’t take my eyes away from the stage. If they just played that song over and over for half an hour, I’d probably have been the happiest person in the room. I absolutely adore how sinister it sounds and how you cannot tear yourself away from what you’re hearing. It’s so passionately eerie, and you feel like someone is creeping up on you- telling you that they know what you’ve been up to. You can’t fight it off this time.

https://soundcloud.com/thecoldbones/how-you-spend-your-time

I love when a band or a song can make you feel as if you’re anywhere but where you are. I could be in the murky depths of 1984 wandering through a grey street in Berlin or I could be here, now. I could be anywhere listening to The Cold Bones. I could be in those places I mentioned. Anywhere is possible, and when a band give you that feeling, I think that’s when you’ve found something that you cannot help but treasure. I know I constantly mention that if I was in a band I’d want to sound like…. but when I listen to The Cold Bones, I really do hear something truly magnificent and I hope that they one day become a band that influence others to make music. I, hand on heart, cannot praise them enough. Their live shows are incredible and they posses a sound many take decades to figure out. They’re a pleasure to listen to and to watch, and are easily one of the best new bands around.

They are playing the Dublin Castle on 16th June. Let’s all go and drink whisky & ginger together!

Artwork at the top is by Ali Gibson.

GROSS NET- Outstanding Debt.

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The right kind of noise can leave etchings of bite marks on your brain and slowly trickle to the outside. These are the kind of song that sweat out of you at 3am when you’ve vowed to sleep or when you need something beyond what you have. The songs fall out of your headphones and into you. It doesn’t matter how you take something in but how you let it out.

I saw Phil/Gross Net this year whilst he was on tour with his other band, Girls Names. Completely different sounds but equally brilliant sounds. Gross Net have this possessive and dark sound that makes you feel as if you’ve gone somewhere you shouldn’t. Like a sordid dark alley in Berlin. If you can’t have fun there, then where can you? The songs on Outstanding Debt are that vicious noise in your head keeping you up at night. But it’s also the one that you can’t help but turn to. The sounds will torment you and instill something inside you. There’s this loudness to the songs that would be overbearing in others, but Phil does it in a way that grabs you passionately by the throat. And my god you don’t want it to ever soften its grip.

Outstanding Debt has the rage of Psychocandy with the underlying feeling of Seventeen Seconds. A rare, raw darkness spills out in each song which leaves you being utterly faithful to the repeat button. I always seem to dive into songs I can listen to on the night bus when all is quite- a little chaos blasting in between my ears. The songs are the result of releases that never saw the light of day, until now. The time is now right for them. The instant fury, the disdain and distance of modern life is felt in every song. This is something I really connected with when I saw Phil perform as Gross Net. There is something in this body of work that HAS to be heard.

Adverts 4 Suicide is probably the one I’m going to call as my favourite, but that could change after several more listens. Like all great records, you notice different things to love about this record with each listen. The pleading in the vocals on How Can I are really gut-wrenching, you really do feel the song in the core of you. There is inner torment in these songs that aren’t for those with weak hearts. Or maybe they are, and will make them tougher. It’s a tough collection of songs to digest if you go deep into it, and I really think that’s the only way to approach them. This isn’t the kind of record you stick on and relax to. It’s the kind that smacks you in the face with solutions and truths.

As someone who really really loves music that’s a bit twisted, messed up and not about how the world is all sunshine and rainbows, Outstanding Debt is one of those releases that explores and expresses every niggling feeling possible. Sometimes music just takes you where you need to go. There’s a wealth of passion in these songs that just steadily blows your mind, and when it’s all over you find yourself crawling back for more. It has you fixated on daily dread, your own demons, lust, despair and everything else that seeps into you. It’s a fascinating listen that grips you every single time.

Writing as a fan, this record delves into everything I look for in music. The atmosphere created in each song is something that isn’t always easy to find. Phil makes it sound so so easy. It’s a stunning collection of songs, and you can buy the limited cassette/stream it here: https://austeritydrive.bandcamp.com/album/outstanding-debt

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

THE KILLS-Siberian Nights.

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“I’ll be chargin’ through your dreams.”

 

In just over a week everything will be just fine with the world as Ash & Ice by The Kills will finally be released. I plan on spending the rest of the year in the safety of my bedroom playing it on repeat, all the time. Obviously I’ll go to work. It seems that each record by The Kills comes out at such a vital time. Certain songs mean more at certain points. I can still carry the weight of the meaning in their older songs throughout daily life, and I do. It helps. Some of their songs make me feel alright with whatever I’ve done or said. Life is too short to be careful, or too careful.

The video to Siberian Nights was released yesterday, and I genuinely thought Heart Of A Dog was the song I’d be clinging to and devouring the meaning of it- completely and utterly. As someone who is rarely right, I was wrong in assuming I could cling. Now it’s over to Siberian Nights. The words are bold and to the point. There’s no cover up in the words- it’s direct and the right kind of creepy. For me, it touches on beautifully getting inside a person, having a massive hold on them. But in the same respect, needing that person but as soon as you have them, you’re halfway out the door. Or maybe you realise you need them a whole lot and nothing will make you turn away from them. You’ll posses them with your love, a look and by always being there. In their head.

The intro to the song sounds like a chase, maybe you’d find it being played in a dodgy Spy film. It’s the sinister feel in Alison’s voice in the first verse that really gets you. “I can whip you up like cream. I can drink your sudden tease. Is it too close for comfort? I can make you come in threes.” If I could ever put something like that together, then I’d probably burn all my notebooks. It’s such a powerful line. It’ll make you think of someone, and when you do- you’ll hope they hear. Back of their head, moving to the front. They are yours in all ways imaginable.

There’s a coldness and a comforting cruel tone to it, Jamie makes the guitar sound menacing but Alison’s voice becomes gentle in certain places which eases you. You feel like you’re chasing someone or something. Hunting them down until they admit defeat. Until they fall into a devoted admission towards you. It’s that type of passion and urgency that you find in The Kills all throughout Siberian Nights. It’s got the urgency of Cat Claw and the impending seduction of Last Day Of Magic, and so much more. I think I’m understanding the words more because my sleep pattern is so far from ideal, everything is borderline heightened. I’m so excited for Ash & Ice, and if the three songs we’ve heard so far are anything to go by- then it’s going to be nothing short of genius. However, we all know that Jamie and Alison create nothing less than perfect.

Their chemistry is envied by so many, and not many ever feel anything like that in their lifetime. It’s a mutual understanding that doesn’t require too many words. We all look for that, and when it hits you- you know. Maybe you can relate Siberian Nights to that. It makes you want to torment someone, just to let them know how close to their bones you are. Chances are, they probably won’t mind- it’s just easier to say no to the feeling than it is to go with it.

Siberian Nights is like that transition from lust to love. It’s under 5 minutes of burning, throbbing passion in song form. It’s everything I love about The Kills, plus so much more.

THE KILLS-Heart Of A Dog.

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“It’s life or death why I chew through the chain.
It don’t matter my love’s the same.
Go so far but never long.”

 

I tried to get out the words out when Heart Of A Dog came out under a month or so ago. I wrote, re-wrote, got annoyed, probably took a nap and left it alone. I think that’s my approach to most things. Good and bad. Go to sleep and hope it’s better/gone by morning. Or just have another nap. Now is the time where I think I can get the words out.

In 2 weeks, I have to let go everything Blood Pressures means to me in order to make room for Ash & Ice. It’s pretty obvious how much Blood Pressures means to me, one or 2 know more than others. It was a record that was a solid crutch during a time where nothing was working out. You know how it is. Songs like The Last Goodbye, Pots and Pans, Wild Charms- they got me out of bed. Baby Says and Future Starts Slow became the songs I lived by. Keep On Your Mean Side, No Wow and Midnight Boom played vital roles in my life at certain times. Their first record is everything to me, but Blood Pressures did something to me that goes beyond words. I wasn’t sure I could let that all go. But then, Doing It To Death happened, and I had this feeling that the new record was going to do something special. However, Heart Of A Dog happened and it was like Alison and Jamie yet again got in my head and unleashed it all. Lazy emotions brought to life by two strangers. What else can you do but let them suck you in.

I love how Jamie again gives us that machine gun sound. He’s aiming for you and Alison’s words are the bullets. They fire out these phrases that smack you right in the gut, and you start to question where you’ve been placing your thoughts. You really thought nobody had heard a peep. But they did. For me, there are a couple of lines that truly mean a hell of a lot to me for their own reasons. I don’t need to get really into it, and the words do speak for themselves. “I need you. Don’t ask me why it is. I want strings – attached. Unnatural as it feels.” Hand on heart, I wish I wrote that line. I wish I had it in me to write something as brutally honest and as raw as that. We’ve all felt that way at least once. It’s a strange feeling to posses, especially when “needing” something or someone stumps you. It doesn’t happen often, but when it does it truly stays with you. It goes from the back of your head to the front. Who knows what will happen.

If anything, I can fully relate to having the loyalty and heart of a dog. I’m probably as daft as one too. I always have this urge to wander off, but I know where home is. I think? If you feel something in your heart, then I always think you should go with it. That’s what I get from Heart Of A Dog, and it’s been one of the few songs I’ve had on repeat constantly recently. There’s something about the aggression in Jamie’s guitar and the delicate fury in Alison’s voice that makes me relate.

Another part of the song that really hits home is: “I get lost. But I always come around. It’s a strange fear, allows me to be found.” The wanderer will always return, and even amidst the fuck ups, honesty comes out. It has to. Sometimes you need someone to know what you’ve done, even if you’re cowering in shame. It happens to us all. Even if you’re not loyal to something or someone, you’ve probably got yourself into that kind of state. You’re always there even if you’re hiding yourself away. All it takes is one person to see through that. You’ll get there.

Although the song does sound aggressive, the lyrics are pretty vulnerable. The admission of feeling a certain way and letting the person know. Fuck..that can be massively scary and we all feel it. But it takes one person to pull out an honesty within us that other people have tried and do try to push down in us. Don’t let them win, I guess. Heart Of A Dog takes everything I love about Jamie and Alison, and out comes this 3 minute and 46 seconds worth of brutal honesty.

I’m completely and utterly ready for 3rd June. I’m ready for Ace & Ice to take over my life, to become some recluse that only wants to listen to this record and nothing else. We all need a band that has a hold on us. A band that gives us our own reality because nothing else will do.

KRISTIN KONTROL: X-COMMUNICATE

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“Change is hard, but I need a change of heart.”

 

Music is a highly personable thing, and how it can make a person think and feel is solely on them. Music can be that friend at 3am when you cannot sleep- at the moment, that’s what I’ve been leaning towards. Sleep doesn’t hang around anymore, and I don’t blame it. So with that, it means I can write about a record that I have been SO excited to hear. I did want to wait until next Friday to do so, but I’m inpatient at times and gave in to the preview. From first seeing play drums in Grand Ole Party to hearing Catholicked for the first time to being awe of the beauty in Coming Down; Kristin has been nothing short of a musical heroine of mine. Her way with words to how she creates songs is mind blowing, and as Kristin Kontrol, she has gone and done it again.

The record starts with the easy grooves of Show Me. A song that requires a person wanting more from another and wanting to give said person more of you. With its slick Sade tones, this song is the perfect opener to this gorgeous record. It’s a song full of reassurance and beauty. The repeating of “There’s no need to change yourself” is just gorgeous. We all need to hear that from time to time.

Next up is White Street. This would sound perfect on the New Jack City soundtrack. It’s got a real 80s New York feel to it, and where some use the 80s an influence and clearly do it wrong- Kristin does it in a way that makes you feel like you are with her in the song. She makes you feel like you’re with her on White Street. The production on this is so so great and makes you feel like you’re in some 80s NYC cop film. This is one of those songs that fill you with an untouchable attitude, you slip into the song and it becomes you.

(Don’t) Wannabe and X-Communicate follow up. I think my feelings towards X-Communicate are pretty clear. I played it 3 times when I had my gig night the other week, I’m ALWAYS listening to it and the words are so brilliant. You can take whatever you want from it. Give up or don’t. But always ALWAYS stick to your decision. The line, “Do I still posses you? Forever and ever. Amen” is up there with the best I’ve heard this year. Sometimes you just want to drape that thought across someone. In either a curious or power-tripping kind of way. Both are fine, and I guess one will always lead to the other.

Many treat “Pop” as a dirty word, as if it isn’t “cool” to make Pop music. That kind of attitude causes minds to be small and record collections to be even smaller. I honestly have no idea what category to put X-Communicate in nor do I want to, it’s one of those records that takes pieces from all over and the end result is a body of sheer joy and genius. Prior to listening to Kristin’s record, I spent a few days listening to nothing but Dum Dum Girls to really understand what she was doing any why she had to do it. It’s pretty obvious why. If you keep doing the same thing over and over, you feel trapped- as if your mind is restricted. I absolutely adore the bones of what she did with Dum Dum Girls, and when I need certain songs they will be there. But on X-Communicate you see/hear another side. This side sounds braver and bigger. X-Communicate is such a powerful record from start to finish, and if you’re going to take anything from it- let it be the fact that you don’t have to keep at something in order to be heard. Change. Change as much as you can, be scared, be a mess but whatever happens- take it.

There are songs on the record that will break your heart such as (Don’t) Wannabe and What Is Love. What Is Love will break you. Or maybe that’s just me being overly sensitive. If it doesn’t cut through you in anyway, then you’re tougher than me. And let’s be honest, it really doesn’t take much. The words are so beautiful, so honest and there’s no way I’ll ever be able to listen to this without bawling like a baby anytime soon. We slide gently into Face 2 Face which is such a prolific track, and easily one of the many stand out points on the record. Something I’ve always loved about Kristin’s voice is that is sounds nothing like anything else I’ve ever heard, but you always know it is her. She’s got this ability to take you to crazy places with her vocal range. The way she sings the hook on X-Communicate to the gentle tones on What Is Love just leave you in awe. I think because her voice is so gentle and so soothing, you truly connect with the lyrics more compared to if she had a gruff voice. The gentleness and the openness is what lures you in, and keeps you there.

Going Thru The Motions is probably one of my favourites, lyrically. I do try my best to distance myself from music when I write about it compared to when I listen to it. It’s pretty tough, especially being a fan so I just stopped trying and stayed being a fan. Going Thru The Motions is one of those songs that just resonate with you, regardless of how you feel. You can be completely tough but there are songs on this record that will break you down more than any person could.

The record comes to an end with the euphoric Smoke Rings which reminds me a little of Tamaryn.Every song on this record fits perfectly into each other. The order of songs is just gorgeous and Smoke Rings is the perfect song to end this record on. It leaves you pressing repeat on Smoke Rings one more time, then you go right back to the start. There are moments on this record where you will have a cry but there are moments where you’ll want to flail your limbs about in time to the music. Maybe you’ll do it all at once. This is a record to fall out and in love to. It’ll heal you, even if you thought you didn’t need it.

What I love about X-Communicate is how much heart, soul and passion is in it. You can easily sense how much work and devotion has gone into this record, but at the same time Kristin just makes it seem so easy. Her words are pure poetry for the soul, and people with this kind of talent aren’t everywhere. I do still stand by she’s my generation’s Patti Smith. Her way with words is careful but not precious. Honest but not brutal.

If you’re looking for a record that’s going to take you somewhere sacred and make you feel things you didn’t know you could, then you know what you need to do this Friday (27th May.) Even in my non-biased opinion, this is truly one of the best records of the year. It’s in my top 2. My number 1? Wait for September/October and I’ll tell you.

X-Communicate will be released via Sub Pop.

KATE JACKSON-British Road Movies.

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There are some things in life that cause emotional trauma to your heart and you question if you can ever move on. Even though I am probably far too sensitive, I can only recall a couple of times where I’ve felt “eternal sadness.” I was devastated when The Long Blondes split up. Prior to this, I saw them at a signing at Virgin Megastore in Manchester where all but Kate were there. Wounded. We move on. Or try. My latest bout of “eternal sadness” hit me yesterday. I changed the stylus on my record player only to discover- it’s actually fully broken. It’s beyond repair, much like my heart. Obviously. I’m currently trying to find a new one. Last night, all I wanted to do was lay down and listen to some Nick Cave. It didn’t happen. And now we are here. A whole week before a record comes out that I’ve been bursting to write about. A record that makes you forget certain heartaches but reminds you of some people. Just because something ends doesn’t mean something great can’t start, and that’s how I feel towards Kate Jackson’s debut record, British Road Movies.

The record starts with The End Of Reason. A 5 minute and 50 second ethereal gem of a song. The song feels like you’re on the run. I think what’s always made me connect with Kate’s lyrics is her open love for service stations and motorways. I grew up without these two things (the Isle of Man has NOTHING!) and the feeling I get when I see vast amount of space whilst in a confined space makes me feel at ease. People watching in service stations is always time well spent. The End Of Reason makes me wish I could drive so I could get in a car right now and drive. I don’t care where to, but just far. Her vocals on this song are really captivating and it’s like she’s echoing everything that’s dragging you down, so you get up and out of whatever hell you’ve fallen into.

Next up we gently glide into Homeward Bound. Where the record opener made us feel like we were leaving, Homeward Bounds makes you feel like you’ve arrived to wherever you were supposed to be. The air of nostalgia that fills this record is gorgeous. In some aspects this feeling can be a drag, but Kate does it in a way that makes you feel as if you’re going through it and she’s telling you’re story. Her way with words is on a par (for me) with the likes of Morrissey. So very true to life, so very honest but she doesn’t need to be pretentious in order for you to feel it.

Metropolis is in my top 3 songs of the year. The lyrics are so easy to relate to. I remember hearing it a few months ago, and what stuck with me is the line “This city pulls me to pieces.” I’ve felt that way towards everywhere I lived, and I think it’s why I feel that settling in one place fills me with dread and nausea. If there was a way of finding out how many times this song has been played, I’m probably responsible for most of it. I love how the drums sound like a cross between Primal Scream’s Rocks Off and McAlmont & Butler’s Yes. That signature Bernard Butler sound makes its way subtly throughout the record and I can’t think of anyone else better for Kate to work with on this record.

Wonder Feeling is another one of my favourites. Like most songs on the record, this one makes you feel like you’re on the road. All of the songs feel like short films. Think Andy Warhol on the run, and maybe you’ll get what I mean. This is the song you play on a Monday before work to build yourself up for leaving the house to. Personally, I love my job but I just hate having to get up early. I like being asleep. I’m sure there are going to be some who will try slide in comparisons to The Long Blondes wherever they can, but seriously just listen to the record as if you know nothing about Kate and you’ll get the record.

If you’re looking to have your heart broken, then 16 Years is the one that’s going to ruin you. I love the sad songs because the honesty is just so easy to relate to. Lyrics are a MASSIVE thing for me, and lyrically this is the best on the record. “You were my release” is such a vulnerable line, and you can take it however you want. It’s just so beautiful and it keeps me coming back to the song. I love the sense of loss and wonder on this song, and from about 2:50 it gets really really sad. Just listen to the words.

Following on with the sadness is Lie To Me. The abandonment you feel when someone turns away can be really overwhelming at times, and when a person just disappears it’s even worse. You would rather they lie to you. The way Kate sings this song doesn’t make her sound desperate or needy. It makes her seem sure of how she feels, and unafraid of being so brutally honest. Songs like this can go either way, and fortunately Kate does it in a way that makes you realise you can tough it out. In the end that’s all you can do, right? It almost sounds like it could be on a Bond film soundtrack. I’d take truth over a lie, but Kate makes it so appealing.

Stranded is most definitely one of my favourites for sure. Sometimes you see something or someone, and you’re just overwhelmed with a feeling. It takes you over and although things are around you- you feel totally alone. A familiar face can usually be the cause of this. Again this is another song on the record that shows how fearless Kate is with her words. If only more of us, including myself were this brave. Where some of the other songs feel like going home, this one feels like leaving everything. I love the line, “In another dimension, you’re here with me.” Speaks for itself really.

All of the songs on the record feel like being in a car, but The Atlantic feels like a bolder step in escaping- by plane. Going far, far away. I love the slight hint of 60s Girl Groups to it. There’s something about this song that shows us just how powerful and how diverse her vocals are. It is definitely a reminder as to why I love the music she makes. This is the kind of song you’d want to hear in a workingmens’ club in the North. You can imagine people supping on their pints whilst nodding in time to the beat. Everyone plotting their escape via going home just after closing time.

Last Of The Dreamers has a stunning air of sadness about it. It feels like you’re listening to someone tell their life story to themselves whilst looking in a mirror at the end of the night where certain feelings are heightened. The kind of feelings you don’t really speak about until you’re alone. It’s got a sadness to it that makes you hear the openess in the lyrics so so clearly. “Yves Saint Laurent scented photographs.” This makes me think of a socialite who has come home from a night out, alone. With their thoughts. When those kind of parties ends, so do the friendships.

The record ends on Velvet Sofa From No.26. When I first played the record, I really thought that the above song should have closed the record, but there’s something about Velvet Sofa From No.26 that just sounds so soothing and eases you into the end but also builds you up to hit play all over again. The song is heavy with reminiscence and wonder of another, and we all get that. The former lover making the person know what they didn’t do. What they should have done. It sounds like a lullaby, but when you listen to the words something really hits you in the gut. . That’s the record all over. The lyrics are perfect. The songs are perfect.

Everything about British Road Movies will make you want to take a road trip into the unknown. You’ll get sentimental over certain songs. You’ll go back in time, but you’ll also see a way to carry on. It is just a beautiful and flawless record. The production is nothing short of perfect. Kate and Bernard are a musical dream team, that’s for sure. It’s an elegant record from start to finish, and you won’t want it to ever end. You connect with the heartbreak and the desire to be on a motorway. Fill up the tank and drive.

British Road Movies is FINALLY out next Friday (20th May) via Hoo Ha Record. Check Kate’s site for details about tour dates: http://www.katejackson.co.uk